(UHND) - It was rumored throughout the day that David Marrero commited to Notre Dame. It did not become official until later tonight though. Marrero is indeed the first commitment of the year for Tyrone Willingham and Notre Dame. Marrero is also Ty's first recruit in his first full class of his own.

Marrero is a speedy runningback who the Notre Dame staff was very high on. He ran a 4.34 40 yard dash at the Nike camp this year. Notre Dame recruited him as a runningback although he is also listed as a wide receiver some places. He can come in and compete at tailback right away since Notre Dame is not too deep at the position heading into this season.

Hopefully this will get the recruiting season going for Notre Dame. David is the Irish's first commit and hopefully will be followed by many more of his caliber. He has one thing that you just can't teach - speed. Notre Dame still needs to upgrade its speed and getting Marrero on board is definitely a step in the right direction. For a story from Mike Frank with quotes from David click here.